Blood and Darkness: Book One: Blood
by SWRR
Summary: What if Luke was a Vampire? And What if Luke lived in an AU universe very different from normal ones? Please Read and Review.
1. Blood and Darkness: Book One, Part One

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars, make no money.  
  
Blood and Darkness, Book One, Part One  
The Second Round Robin  
By:  
Jayde Jade  
Liz Skywalker  
Storm  
KT the Hutt  
  
  
Luke Vader walked into his quarters. It had been another long day.   
Everyone thought it was so easy being him. They didn't understand his   
limitations, his...his...him being possessed. There really was no other way to   
put it. He had to admit that it had gotten better since that maggot Palpatine   
had been... disposed of, but things were far from the way he would think as   
ideal.  
  
The fact was, he couldn't pinpoint what exactly was wrong with his life,   
just that it was incomplete somehow. He had all money could buy, he had the   
respect and affection of his father, but something was missing. It was like a   
part of him wasn't there.  
  
He couldn't explain it, that was the way it was. Just today, when he was   
dealing with the execution of some minor, mindless idiot who had screwed up   
royally, he found himself wishing that he had someone to share it with. He knew   
that it sounded silly, but that's the way it just was. He had no way to know   
that everything would shortly change very rapidly. But the future is constantly   
in motion, and try as one might, nothing can change the past and the future is   
not necessarily dependant on the past.  
  
That night while meditating as usual he dreamed/saw a red haired women who   
was beckoning him somewhere. To where, he didn't know. But he knew he had to   
follow, but as he started to follow, something held him back. Turning, he saw   
that it was his father, one arm around Luke's midsection, preventing him from   
falling off a cliff. In his meditation, Luke turned around wildly, not knowing   
what had just occurred.  
  
But Luke was tired, and try as he might, he fell asleep, temporarily   
forgetting his vision. the morrow would bring surprises a-plenty.  
  
  
The next day, young lord Vader woke up early. His confidential servant was   
already in there. Luke sometimes thought that that man never sleeps. His   
confidential servant brought him the daily news-vids and the local and palace   
gossip. There was no gossip about him, but a little about his father. It was one   
of Luke's many duties, this dispersing of rumors. Most rumors came to an abrupt   
halt after the young lord offered his two credits in. Some rumors, like today's,   
were rather dry and showed a lack of imagination. But others could be   
positively...juicy. It was through these rumors that Luke had found out about an   
underworld character with the alias 'Jaded Hand'. He had yet to find out what   
that meant.   
  
He nodded at the servant, who promptly withdrew. Luke spent the next few   
minutes eating his morning-meal while scanning the vids for anything. His eye   
caught an article: 'New crime lord arising?' As Luke scanned the article, a   
worried frown crossed his face. As he read the last line 'we are still waiting   
for a confirmation or denial from the Imperial Palace', he jumped out of his   
seat and pressed a button. Within seconds, he had a direct link to Center News,   
the most widely read, or watched, news center in the galaxy.   
  
Luke, for once, was at loss for words. He asked about the article, they   
replied that it had been a tip from an anonymous source and a quick follow-up   
had proven everything to be correct and did his lordship have an official   
comment. He replied that he would get to the bottom of this.  
  
Sitting back in his quarters, he pulled up an information terminal and,   
after putting in his passwords, proceeded to read through all the information   
available on a character named Mara Jade.  
  
Prescott Ven withdrew from his master's quarters with grace. He nodded to   
the guards stationed outside, and his long legs took him quickly back to his own   
office. Once inside, he rapidly scanned for bugging devices, then dropped into   
his chair tiredly. Double dealing the young Lord Vader was exhausting. He   
suppressed a twinge of fear at the thought of being discovered, but the fear of   
failing his "true" master was stronger.   
  
Prescott leaned forward to his information terminal, and tapped in a series of   
identification codes. The codes took him out of the Imperial Network altogether,   
though the Network itself showed him hard at work. He waited impatiently for a   
response. Then the screen cleared, and a face took shape in front of him. And   
the face was not happy.   
  
  
  
"My lord," Prescott greeted the face of Quiin Palpatine. Quiin frowned,  
  
"I told you never to contact me at this hour!" Prescott bowed his head.  
  
"But... I need-"   
  
"What?!" Quiin interrupted.   
  
"Need what, Ven?" Prescott looked nervous. Quiin continued, "I doubt you   
would have asked my son for any thing... how is it you fear him more than I?"   
Prescott didn't dare say a thing. Quiin continued with the history lesson.   
"Perhaps you remember the name Qui-Gon Jinn?" Prescott searched his memory...   
then shook his head no. "He was my brother... the man behind the Empire's rise."   
  
Quiin's face had a far off look, and the name finally clicked in place in   
Prescott's mind. "I remember now, wasn't he a Jedi master?"   
  
Quiin grinned, "He was our spy, and a very good one at that... my little   
brother was the one who inspired my son to create the empire," His face   
darkened. "Sidious had no respect for him and had him assassinated during the   
Naboo crisis... it was hard for me to break the news to the princess..."   
  
Prescott, who was getting just a little bit confused, spoke up. "Uh,   
what... princess?"   
  
Quiin frowned. "I keep forgetting you know nothing of the Empire's rise...   
the princess, well, one time princess, was enslaved when she was eight after her   
parents were killed in a raid. Shmi Skywalker... daughter of Katrina and Devon   
Skywalker... mother of Anakin Skywalker... born on a planet in the unknown   
regions... you get the idea, my brother had a thing for her..."   
  
Prescott spoke up again, "Uh, about why I contacted you..."  
  
Katrina woke up in a cold sweat. Her old vampire instincts were on full   
alert along with her mother instincts. Devon was not in their bedroom. She   
quickly got up and headed toward Shmi's room, casting a calm spell as she ran   
down the hallway. "Shmi," she whispered to her daughter.  
  
"Shmi, we have to leave." Shmi woke up to the sound of her mother's  
voice.   
  
"What is it?" she searched for her father's presence... "Where's  
daddy?"   
  
Katrina shook her head, "I don't know."   
  
Shmi could feel the fear rising from the town-folk of Silmaria. "They're   
afraid..." Katrina nodded, understanding the enhanced powers her daughter had.   
Shmi's birth caused quite a stir with the mages at W.I.T., for a while she was   
afraid they'd try to take her daughter away... but luckily that never happened.   
Katrina and Shmi ran through the streets of Silmaria from an unknown enemy.   
Suddenly the night sky exploded with lights.   
  
"Katrina!"  
  
Katrina turned to the sound of her beloved. "Devon..." she trailed off as   
the lights began to land. Devon reached her side, Katrina noticed his arm was   
bleeding. "It's an invasion." she whispered to herself, Devon summoned his   
staff...  
  
... young Lord Vader came back to reality. He had been searching for   
information on this "Mara Jade" when the vision had come. Judging from the sky,   
it had lasted for nearly nine hours.  
  
  
Luke was trying his best to figure out his vision. Visions always meant   
something, some even stood for things. This was one of them. Since it was a two   
part vision, the betrayal (that was the only rational explanation Luke could   
come up with) would come in two steps.  
  
The first step would be the betrayal of someone close to him. Since the   
vision had shown him Ven, it meant someone with daily access to him. Ven had   
been contacting someone, someone who knew too much but also was insane. The part   
about Qui-Gon being related to Palpatine was pure insanity as was Palpatine's   
uncle. But that didn't discount...of course! It had to be one of Palpatine's   
relatives. But he and Father had killed them all. He would have to meditate on   
it.  
  
--  
Luke smiled slowly, his teeth showing. The underling cowered, clearly   
frightened of the glittering teeth. The Vader's, as were all Force sensitives,   
of a different race than other, normal, humans. By blood they were werewolves.   
That was one of the reasons that sensitives were once hunted. But the Jedi,   
indeed it was the Sith who found it first, had found a way to counter the   
Changing. It was so simple it was mind-boggling. Why not become another sort of   
night creature? And performing this change also insured perfect loyalty. It's   
nature that a vampire has loyalty to the one who bit him. Fathers bit their son,   
mothers the daughters. It was the way of the Force by this time.  
  
It was why Palpatine had surrounded himself with sensitives he had   
bitten...of course! Jade was the Emperor's Hand, he bit her, the was no   
conceivable reason she could not have been his own offspring.  
  
  
The old Lord Vader bared his teeth. His son backed down a step in fear. It   
was pure animalistic rage that flowed through Emperor Vader. How could one of   
those filth be left?! How could they have missed one? More importantly, why had   
Luke missed her? Did this have to do with the betrayal visions he had been   
having? Was Luke the weak link?  
  
Luke looked up at his father in pure fear. What was his father going to do   
to him? He hadn't felt this way since he started him force training. Even though   
Luke's first reaction was to back away and flee the room, he held firm. It would   
only anger his father more if he ran away. And at this time, angering his father   
could have disastrous consequences.  
  
Vader calmed down. all the rage leaving him at once made him feel very   
drained, but he knew that he must be strong, if only for Luke's sake. Luke.   
Vader belatedly remembered he was in the room. Horror filled him. Had Luke seen   
him at his most animalistic? Had he unknowingly placed his son in a life   
threatening danger? For that was the side effect of the counter-change, when a   
Sith is at the height of his power, he feels nothing for his blood family. And   
blood is an important thing to a vampire. Vader smiled at his son who looked   
questioning at him. Vader internally cursed himself for doing this to his son   
and then motioned him forward. As Luke approached, Vader began telling him his   
plan.  
  
---  
  
Jade went over the data pad for the umpteenth time. The Vaders had no   
weaknesses it seemed. Their natural werewolf-ness (if that was a word) protected   
them for any type of poisen immaginable. Even spice produced no lasting   
impression on them. Their werewolf fangs could bite through anything but the   
strongest durasteel and their vampire fangs made even that fact questionable.   
Their vampire fangs also made it possible for them to 'mark' humans. These   
humans were then solely devoted to their masters. It made her wonder why young   
lord Vader hadn't done the same thing with Ven. It certainly made her job   
easier. She never stopped to wonder if in fact he had.  
  
---  
Ven wiped his brow. It was hard, but he knew that his 'master' had thought   
spies everywhere. It was very difficult keeping his thoughts on betrayal while   
working hard to betray the one he was betraying to. It gave him a headache. But   
he trusted Master Luke and trusted that this scheme of his would work. If only   
this was over and he could continue to serve his Master in peace and happiness,   
for truly nothing gave him more joy than a smile bestowed on him by Master Luke.   
He lived to serve and this was service. He knew that his Master had visions of   
him betraying him, but hoped that it was merely symbolism, that it would seem to   
everyone that he was a traitor, but that his Master would always know his   
loyalty.  
  
  
Luke was exhausted. Seeing his father tended to do that to him. It was so   
hard to pretend to be evil, knowing that one false move would mean not only his   
death, but the death of those who depended on him, Ven, Leia, Han And Chewie,   
who were Force knew where now, and Lando, who Luke had to contact desperately.   
But how? He laid down on the bed in weariness, wondering if Ven would be able to   
get away today. Perhaps he could find Lando and pass the message on. He felt   
himself drifting towards sleep.   
  
"It's an invasion." she whispered to herself. Though they had long planned   
for this, Katrina was still caught by surprise, then her training took over. She   
grabbed Shmi by the hand, and ran to the ship.  
  
After fastening her daughter securely in the passenger section, she   
dropped a quick kiss on her nose, and made for the bridge. The relief pilot   
greeted her fairly cheerfully, so she knew the evacuation must be going well.   
Strapping herself in, she ran her eyes quickly over the console, committing the   
information to memory, and then called up the ship's manifest. She could hear   
the shouts and movements of the staff behind her as they rapidly loaded the ship   
for takeoff, as she punched in her husband's comm-number.   
  
"Devon here." Katrina smiled at the crispness in his voice. "Pilot secured   
and ready sir. Get your arm checked would you? I don't want you bleeding all   
over my ship."   
  
"Yes, Pilot." Katrina heard the laughter in his voice as he answered.   
"Come on, this is the last bunch," he continued to someone in the background.   
Then he reported, "Commander boarding, take off at pilot's discretion."   
  
"Aye sir, take off commencing."   
  
Luke came to with a start. Another vision about his, what, great-  
grandparents? And his brief glimpse of his grandmother Shmi. He'd heard so much   
about her, but never thought his first sight of her would be of a frightened 8   
year old. Still, the girl had been commendably calm, considering the   
circumstances.   
  
He went to the communit and contacted Prescott Ven. In an innocuous   
conversation about the upcoming banquet, the code phrases and facial expressions   
conveyed an entirely different conversation.  
  
Luke: Contact Lando immediately. The timetable must be moved up.   
  
Ven: Yes, Master. Shall I contact the Princess as well?   
  
Luke: Yes. Tell her Vader plans to take over the Byoverton system.   
  
Ven: That would give him control of the spice market.   
  
Luke: We must stop him at all costs. Get to Lando. He knows all the   
contingency plans.   
  
Luke sat back with a sigh. Ven would get to Lando, on the pretext of   
ordering the linens needed for the banquet. Lando would have a dozen or so   
backup plans in readiness. Now all that was needed was to track down the Jade   
character who kept sticking her nose in. Luke could not allow any meddling at   
this stage of the game. He bared his fangs with a smile as he contemplated the   
beautiful Jade's long white, unmarked neck.   
  
Katrina sighed, glad that Dr. Cranium's "outer-space-travel-device" worked as   
planned. Months ago Dr. Cranium had picked up messages being sent from one ship   
to another about an invasion, he had insisted that they be prepared and build   
more of his OSTDs. With luck, they might be able to out-run the bigger ships...   
Katrina prayed the wizards could divert the invaders attention long enough...   
suddenly the bigger ship shot some kind of energy beam at their tiny space   
craft, Shmi screamed.  
  
Luke woke in a cold sweat, suddenly knowing what was happening to him. He   
remembered dreams where he had been an agent of the dark side, and others where   
he was a lightsider, but now he felt he was neither, but... there was a knock at   
his door.   
  
End Part One  



	2. Blood and Darkness: Book One, Part Two

Disclaimer: Don't own Star Wars, make no money.  
  
Blood and Darkness, Book One, Part Two  
  
The Fifth Round Robin  
  
By:  
  
Jayde Jade  
  
Liz Skywalker  
  
KT the Hutt  
  
  
Luke opened the door and a bat flew in above his head. Not seeing it, he closed   
the door and went to contact Lando. He was telling Lando everything he needed to   
know. As he disconnected, he turned around and was only mildly surprised to see   
Darth Vader standing behind him.  
  
"You should be more aware of your surroundings, young one." Vader said. Luke   
said nothing. Then more gently, "I knew the day would come, Luke. How much of   
that was truth?" Luke was silent. "All of it, I'm sure. You wouldn't settle for   
less. How long has this been going for?"  
  
Luke was impassive, face betraying nothing. "Luke, this is an order." Vader   
waited. After a while, Luke spoke up.   
  
"I don't know who I am. It's like I'm two people, Luke Vader...and Luke   
Skywalker."  
  
"Your alias with the Rebellion." Vader stated unnecessarily.  
  
"Yes. When I was there, it was like I was another person, even when I kept the   
fact that I was a spy foremost in my mind."  
  
"It is well known that Rebellion Conditioning is very hard to break."  
  
"And Imperial is also supposed to be." Luke was silent for a while, then spoke   
up. "How long have you known?"  
  
"That you were acting as a double agent? Ever since you got back. But back to   
the main subject, tell me about Luke Skywalker."  
  
"What is there to say? He is a rebel pilot who, in six months, grew from a low   
fighter pilot to a capital ship captain. Who, on it's maiden voyage as Rebel   
ship, was captured in a sneak attack by the Empire. Skywalker was then captured   
and given over into the custody of Lord Vader. He has somehow gotten in   
connection with the Rebellion and is giving them Imperial secrets." Luke said   
nonchalantly.  
  
"With the help of his man-servant, Ven." Vader added. Luke looked up sharply.  
  
"You knew?"  
  
"You could not have made it more obvious. It was almost if you wanted me to find   
out that you were defying me."  
  
"It was the Vader in me. Vader vs. Skywalker, the end result is me." Luke turned   
away. "I don't know who I am. One minute I'm Luke Vader, no problems, and then   
suddenly I'm contacting the Rebellion and telling them what systems you plan to   
take over."  
  
"Tell me, Luke, what is Skywalker's position on humans?"  
  
"He thinks they are poor, unfortunate creatures that deserve only pity."  
  
"And Vader's?"  
  
"They are food, and very entertaining prey."  
  
"And what about yours?"  
  
The question threw Luke off-guard. "What do you mean?"  
  
"What do you, at this moment, think about humans?"  
  
"I don't. I prefer not to."  
  
"Luke!"  
  
"That...they...they're food!" Luke blurted out.  
  
"Now was that so hard?" Vader asked. Luke nodded. A brief look came over the   
elder Vader's face, but it passed so quickly, Luke couldn't discern what it was.   
"Luke, answer me frankly. How long has it been since you tasted blood? Real   
blood, human blood."   
  
Luke looked at Darth Vader for a few moments, unmoving.  
  
"How long since your last kill? The last time you wrapped your mouth around a   
human's throat and fed? Since you felt the thrill, the sheer animal thrill, of   
it?"  
  
"I d-d-don't kn-o-w..." Luke stammered.  
  
"Too long then." Vader took out his comlink. "Bring in Ven." Two stormtroopers   
brought Prescott Ven in and knocked him to the floor. Luke looked on with a   
hungry expression as Vader took one long nail and slashed Ven wrists. Blood   
dripped freely and Luke had a crazed expression on his face. Ven looked at his   
master horrified. Vader had guessed right. It had been so long that Luke could   
not control himself, that the mere smell of blood would drive him crazy, let   
alone the sight of fresh, warm, red blood.  
  
"Drink." Vader urged him. "Drink and live, for it is your destiny upon which I   
have placed you." Vader quoted at him.  
  
Luke started to lunge forward, but stopped himself. Skywalker took hold of Vader   
and tried to push him back, but the sight of Ven there dripping, the food out   
and delicious, drove Skywalker out. Luke Vader stood and ,after a nod from his   
father, started to lick the blood from Ven's wrists. Suddenly, that wasn't   
enough, and Luke was all over him, fangs in throat. He sucked and drank deep.   
Luke drank as never before, he had never known he could be so thirsty. Suddenly,   
all he held in his arms was a corpse. Ven was sucked dry.  
  
Luke felt more satisfied than he had ever been before. In fact, he hadn't known   
he could be this sated. He had fed more upon Ven's emotions of anger, hurt, and   
confusion. Near the end, when the marking broke, Luke had feasted upon betrayal,   
fury, and rage. Luke licked his lips. He craved another banquet like that again.  
  
A hand reached down and tousled his white-blond locks. "Little bat." His father   
said affectionately. Luke felt himself purr. His father hadn't called him that   
in years. That satisfaction combined with finally knowing who, and what, he was,   
made for a sumptuous banquet indeed.  
  
  
"Han, listen to this." Leia told her fiancée.  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"It's sort of the Vampire Bible. It doesn't have a title but it brings down the   
real story of how the vampires started and what rules they adhere to. But I want   
you to hear this passage: 'Drink and live, for this is the water of life, the   
elder told the younger. Drink and live for it is your destiny upon which I have   
placed you. Drink and live, for this is the food which you shall drink, the life   
blood. Drink and live, these are the words you shall live by.  
  
'And the accursed Jedi got up and said, View this, O Jedi, for this is what you   
shall drink, and pointed to the animal before them. This is what you shall   
drink, this is what you shall live by. And the Jedi caused many of their number   
to die that year.  
  
'And the elder said to the younger, these are the rules you shall live by. When   
a child is born, you shall wait 90 days. After 2 moons, if the child changes,   
the father shall bite him. If the child does not change, you shall kill him for   
he is not of us. If a child of our own is born to the humans, take him at all   
costs and the taker shall bite him and he shall be unto him as a son.'"  
  
"Interesting. But what does this have to do with me?"  
  
"We are dealing directly with the Emperor, we have to understand the vampires to   
be able to deal with them. Vampires are by definition dead, but since they are   
werewolves, they are living and can stand the sun's ray. They can propagate and   
they can go without food. They can change into a bat and a wolf at will and do   
not change with the moons unless they will it."  
  
"Like Luke?"  
  
Leia sighed. They had tried so hard to conceal that Luke was a Force-sensitive.   
"Yes, but he had never been bitten so every month, he changed. But he had enough   
control that he could change back immediately and not many people noticed."  
  
"I suppose now that Vader's got him, he's already been bitten." Han said   
bitterly.  
  
"Han, we don't know that. He has been serving as a spy for us."  
  
"About spies, Leia, is what I came to talk to you about. Ven has been silenced."   
  
  
Katrina watched in horror as they took her daughter, her Shmi. The tall slaver   
shot Katrina in the chest...  
  
  
Luke Vader looked up from the documents he had been reading, these visions came   
so often now, he almost didn't notice any more. How long had this one lasted? He   
looked out the window, the moon was just starting to rise, when the vision had   
started the sun was just rising, "Ok, I get it," he said aloud, "The shorter the   
vision, the longer it lasts." He sighed and threw the documents a side.  
  
  
Mara woke up with a sick feeling in her stomach. The feeling hadn't gone away   
the entire day. It wasn't that she hadn't eaten, she had fed last night in fact.   
It was more like a promotion of evil, of...something. It was as if destiny and   
life itself revolved around this day.  
  
So she wasn't startled when she felt a hand wrap around her throat when she was   
alone and drag her into a dark corner. She tried to break free but her assailant   
was strong. Angry, she bit his hand and felt it heal itself immediately.   
Startled, she stopped struggling. The hand withdrew.   
  
"Who are you? And who ever you are, you better have a good excuse..." She   
trailed off as he held up a warning finger.  
  
"I got you once Jade, I can get you again. In fact, I want to propose an   
alliance, a temporary one of course, but an alliance just the same."  
  
"What do you want to do?"  
  
"Kill the Rebellion." He said nonchalantly as if he did that everyday.  
  
"And how would this help me?"   
  
"I know that the Rebellion is stealing some of your profits and other things.   
Killing them would increase your profit margins, and help boost security."  
  
"Security is tight enough." She snapped angrily.  
  
"I was able to get in." He said pointedly.  
  
"Enough of this game, Vader. What is it you want?"  
  
"I want your help, Jade." Luke leaned on the durasteel as he outlined his plan.  
  
  
Leia started as a figure came from the shadows in front of her. Before there had   
been nothing, now there was this...thing. The thing took shape and Leia was   
surprised to see that it was...  
  
"Luke", she breathed.  
  
"Correct. Or, partly correct, highness." Luke smiled coldly and Leia could see   
the two fangs that hung down from where his canines should have been.  
  
"Vader bit you didn't he?" Leia asked, dreading the answer.  
  
"Partly correct again highness. You think he recently bit me." Here Luke's smile   
grew larger and Leia could see how the other teeth had turned partly into   
werewolf fangs.  
  
"What's the partly part?"   
  
"You're looking at Imperial Prince Luke Vader." said a voice from behind her.   
Leia whirled and was shocked to see Crime Lord Jade standing there. She turned   
back to Luke, who's grin grew even more sinister, if that was possible.  
  
"Vader? Luke, is this true?" she asked needlessly. He nodded. Her heart sank.   
  
  
*Vader, why do you want me here?* Came the voice in his head.  
  
*Just wait and watch.* He replied.  
  
"So what are you going to do to me?" Leia asked.  
  
"LEIA!" The shout came from behind her. She turned and was overjoyed   
to see Han and Lando come running in.  
  
"Thank the light," Leia breathed.  
  
*That's why.* Luke sent to Mara.  
  
*Vader, don't tell me that you can't take on three humans. UNARMED humans.*  
  
*Of course I can. But a guy needs to eat.*  
  
*Vader, you have the pick of the litter up there. You don't have to  
settle for what I have to settle for.*  
  
*Jade, don't be blind.*  
  
*What do you mean?*  
  
*Organa's a sensitive. Not enough to Change every month, but still a sensitive.   
Solo and Calrissian, there is none better than Correlian. It's so hard to get Correlian these days.*  
  
*So you want me to hold them off while you have dinner?*  
  
*Jade, I'm hurt that you would ever even think of such a thing. When a man takes   
a woman out to dinner, it's customary that she chooses what she want and the man   
gets the left-overs. But I do want a bite of Organa.*  
  
*Only fair, I guess.*  
  
While they had been conversing, the Humans had grouped together and were trying   
to get something from their pockets. As they pieced it together, Luke could see   
that they were making a stake. He nearly laughed out loud. They thought they   
could kill him with a stake. Didn't it cross their minds that a vampire in it's   
right mind wouldn't go anywhere if they could be killed by a piece of wood? It   
was almost impossible to kill a vampire. Only another vampire could do it.  
  
*Vader...* Mara warned in his head.  
  
*Just break it in your hands, Jade.*  
  
*VADER! DO I HAVE TO SPELL IT OUT?*  
  
*I'll take Calrissian. You take Solo. Organa is already taken care of.*  
  
Mara looked at Leia and, sure enough, she was backed into the wall and looked on   
the verge of collapse. Mara turned her attention back to Solo. Vader had been   
true to his word. Solo looked much more appetizing than Calrissian. She had   
always had a weakness for Kzety Correllian Blood as opposed to Yvopy. She   
wondered briefly how Vader had known that.  
  
*Luke.* He insisted in her mind. *My name is Luke.*  
  
*Alright...Luke. And my name is Mara.*  
  
*Okay...Mara.*  
  
Calrissian and Solo approached them, stake out and pointed at Luke's heart. At   
the last second, Luke step sided and grabbed the shaft. He twisted and pulled   
the stake from their hands. He tossed it to Mara who promptly snapped it. Luke   
then turned to face them.  
  
  
It was over. Mara was standing over Solo, playing with him. Solo would moan and   
Mara would lick his ear and then bite his neck viciously. Solo would scream in   
pain and Mara would kiss his lips.   
  
Over by the wall, Luke was playing much of the same game with Calrissian. But   
Luke was much more hungry than Mara. Luke had stripped Calrissian of his shirt   
and had streaked his claws across Calrissian's chest, licking up the blood at   
intervals. Luke was alternating between giving Lando the Kiss of Death and   
massaging Lando's muscles. Every time Lando groaned, Luke would lick   
Calrissian's body, every time a little lower. Calrissian was conscious and kept   
screaming, yelling for Luke to stop, to get off of him, to turn back into Luke   
Skywalker. At last Luke had had enough of Calrissian's screams and, as he open   
his mouth to scream, kissed him full on the lips. Calrissian, startled, stopped   
struggling, and Luke moved lower and Kissed Calrissian on the neck.  
  
"What am I, a cup?" Calrissian had time to groan before the life was fully   
sucked out of him by Luke who hung on to him like a leech.  
  
Mara stood from her drink to see Luke eying Organa.  
  
"Take her, Luke. I've got the best meal right here." Mara said, kicking Solo in   
the stomach. Solo, who was strapped to the remains of the stake and was stood up   
in a corner, groaned and coughed up blood. Mara grinned wickedly and kissed   
Solo, sucking up the blood. It was true what they said. Vampires who shared   
blood together shared lives together. Mara knew it and didn't care. If this was   
Luke Vader, she didn't want anyone else.  
  
Leia awoke to see Lando dead by the wall across from her and Han tied up in a   
corner and Luke standing directly above her.  
  
"What, what happened?" She asked smally.  
  
"That is immaterial." Luke said flatly.  
  
"What happened to you, Luke? I thought you were my friend."  
  
Luke licked his lips at the feeling of anger and betrayal coming from her. He   
had been right. She was a sensitive. "You thought wrong. I was never your   
friend."  
  
"Luke Vader." She said in wonder. "You were spying on us." And then louder. "YOU   
WERE SPYING ON US!!!"   
  
Mara looked over at them and put her finger to her lips playfully. "Brilliant   
deduction, Organa." Luke said dryly.  
  
"What are you going to do to me?"  
  
Luke ignored her. "You know, Organa, you are a sensitive." Hushing her protests,   
he went on, "it sometimes manifests in humans, but in you it wasn't strong   
enough to Change you every month."  
  
"What are you going to do to me?" She demanded.  
  
"There are two types of Kisses. There is the Kiss of Death and the Kiss of   
Conversion. They both feel the same to the human it is being done on, but to the   
Kisser..." Luke's face showed absolute ecstasy.  
  
"WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME?"  
  
Luke looked at her as if first seeing her. "Feed." And then he did. Her shrieks   
reached the top floor of the building they were in, an amazing feat since they   
were in the lower levels of Coruscant.  
  
  
Mara walked next Luke as they came to the Imperial Palace.  
  
"You sure you want to do this?" Luke asked her. "This wasn't part of our   
agreement. I was going to leave you in peace."  
  
"I'm sure." Mara said. Luke nodded and then left her with the stormtroopers as   
he went in to see the Emperor.  
  
Left alone by Luke, Mara drifted around the outer throne room, waiting for   
admittance to the inner throne room by a royal guard. Absently, Mara's hand rose   
to the twin scars that Palpatine had given her when she was 90 days old. But she   
felt something out of place. It was almost as if.... It felt like...no. He   
couldn't have done...it...to her. It totally undermined the trust they had in   
each other. But...if he had...when she thought he had then there was no trust   
between them. There was only way to find out. She gathered the energy field that   
was called The Force around her and searched out her blood. She detected foreign   
elements. THAT JEDI! He had. She blasted herself with the Force and broke the   
marking that that little Jedi had put on her.  
  
  
"Why?" Vader asked Luke.  
  
"I needed her help." Luke replied and looked away. Vader angrily got up and   
walked over to Luke. Vader's hands grabbed hold of Luke's jaw, forcing him to   
look forward.  
  
"And?" Vader spoke in Luke's face.  
  
"I needed her to help me." Luke said evenly. Vader's fangs slid down.   
  
Luke recoiled in fear. Fangs were read like a Twi'lek's lekku. Luke's were   
hidden as a show of respect, non-violence, and submission. He normally wore his   
half-down as a sign of readiness. But there were very few times he had seen   
Vader full fanged while in human form. It frightened him more than he liked to   
admit.  
  
Luke closed his eyes as Vader's fangs slid down Luke's neck and was silent as   
they slashed his throat. Vader caught some of the dripping blood on his finger   
before the wound closed up.  
  
"Drink." Luke obeyed. The mixture of his blood and Vader's blood went rushing   
through his body, momentarily weakening him.  
  
"Now, tell me everything." Vader ordered. As Luke complied, it finally came to   
him what Vader had done. In fact, it made him feel older. Father only renewed   
bitings when the sons were of age and old enough to care for themselves.  
  
  
Mara fumed. *To think that I was considering asking that slime ball to blood   
me!* To add insult to injury, she knew that blooding could be fatal, she had   
done it on more than one vampire herself. Blooding was very complex and included   
a wide array of Force use and actual bleeding, which in itself was hard to do   
because a vampire's body automatically healed itself. *I will never trust that   
womp-rat again!* She told herself firmly, but something in her rebelled. could   
it be that she actually liked him after what he had done to her?  
  
  
Vader nodded and Luke stopped talking. He had just detailed everything from   
searching out Mara to why he marked her to how Organa tasted.  
  
"Morphate." Vader told Luke. At that code word, Luke automatically shrunk and   
grew wings. Bat Luke flew up to the ceiling and found a perch. He was invisible   
to even a vampire eye. His eyes were as sharp as a werewolves and senses keened   
up and ready. He watched silently as his father called Mara in and started   
talking to her. He could see that she was very angry and that Father was   
comforting her. He stretched his ears to hear what was being said.  
  
Luke's frown turned to a cold smile as he listened to what was being   
said. "Did you order Luke to mark me?" Mara demanded. She was so angry that Luke   
could taste it. It was very appetizing, he decided.  
  
"No." Vader replied simply.   
  
Mara was thrown off-guard. She hadn't expected such a straightforward answer.   
"Then why did he?"  
  
"He assumed that you would not aid him if he did not."  
  
"Well, that was correct." Mara conceded. "But why did he need me in the first   
place? I know that he could have beaten 3 humans and held off others as he fed."  
  
"Would you believe me if I told you that he was attracted to you?"  
  
"No." Mara answered bluntly. "Also, because I suspect that that was not the   
reason."  
  
"Why don't you ask him yourself when you next see him?"  
  
"Why would I see him?" Mara asked, but didn't receive an answer.   
  
Instead, Vader gestured dismissal and Mara was escorted out. Vader looked up and   
Luke flew down. Midair, he began to change back. By the time he was close to the   
floor, he was fully human. He 'jumped' down from his stalling and turned to face   
Vader.  
  
"I want you to follow her."  
  
"Yes Father."  
  
"And explain yourself to her."  
  
"Yes Father." Luke turned on one heel and walked to the doors. Once there, he   
paused and turned. "Father?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"Why were you angry before?"  
  
"I was angry at myself for not noticing that you had grown. It came to me that   
you were acting like an adult and I was still treating you like a child."  
  
Luke paused and absorbed the words. Then, he slowly nodded and walked out.  
  
  
"Janson!" The cry came.  
  
"What is it, Klivian?" Janson's head snapped up at he glared at his partner.  
  
"Come look what I found."   
  
Klivian brought Janson into a dark room. Janson flashed his glow-lamp around.   
"Holy Sith." He exclaimed softly. Inside the room were three mutilated bodies.  
  
"My thought exactly." Klivian said.  
  
"We better report this." Janson said doubtfully. Klivian gave him a look that   
said 'you've got to be kidding.'  
  
"Let's keep it as our little secret. It might involve too many higher-ups."  
  
"Good idea. Let's get out of here." Janson backed away quickly and together,   
they escaped into the lower levels of Coruscant, looking for more Rebel scum.   
  
  
Katrina felt a strange sense of peace as her soul started to separate from the   
mass of crude flesh, bones and blood called a body. There was no pain, she felt   
another presence join her... Devon, but only for a second, it felt as if he was   
being torn away from her, she could hear his screams, his cries of pain, and   
then, the eerie silence she had 'felt' when she had first become a vampire... oh   
gods. In a flash she remembered the bond, remembered what she had done to him...   
Katrina heard the cries of her daughter, her little shimmer of hope, her Shmi...   
*Why am I left here to be tortured by the cries of my loved ones?!* she 'cried'   
to herself, wishing that something would break the horrible, invisible thread   
that still bound her to the physical realm, so she wouldn't hear Shmi's cries,   
so she couldn't... FEEL the pain... the pain of not being able to hold her child   
for one last time... then, suddenly, it was all gone, the world she had known so   
well, her husband, her child, her life... and she knew where she was. THIS was   
the other side... THIS was the Force.  
  
  
Mara stood, over looking the city from a balcony. She heard Luke approach her   
from behind. "I don't want to hear it." She stated, putting up her hand to stop   
him from saying anything. "Mara-" Mara turned to face him. "It's JADE." Luke   
sighed, "Alright... Jade."  
  
Mara turned and tried to leave, Luke blocked her path, she started to sift into   
bat form, Luke grabbed her hand, sending his emotions through her. She gasped   
and pulled her hand away. After a moment of silence Mara spoke up. "Is... is   
that really what you feel for me?" she asked softly, turning toward him. Luke   
nodded, offering her his hand, she took it and was swept up in a river of   
memories and emotions. Luke began to explain every thing...   
  
  
"It began when I was small and it's carried on until now. I'm sure it was the   
same with you, Mara, but I felt it very keenly. I was alone in the galaxy, just   
something to be used and then discarded. I know now that that was not the way it   
actually was, but I still can't shake off that feeling." Luke paused to breathe.  
  
"I know what you mean, Luke." Mara said softly.  
  
"When I went into the Rebellion," Luke went on as if not hearing her, "I thought   
maybe I could be something here, be someone I never was. I let their talk sway   
me, to do things I never would have done here. I can blame some of it on my   
selection of food. I lost track of the times I had to force myself to eat Human   
Food. It's not natural." Luke shook his head. "Once a month, when I changed   
myself into a wolf, I thought that maybe I could hunt like this. But Organa knew   
my secret and locked me up. The first time, when she walked in on me on the   
first full moon, she was about to kill me. I had to convince her that I was an   
unbitten Force-user, that I was harmless." Luke spat the word out. "Harmless,   
that's what I had to be. I grew my hair out to hide my scars and used make up   
before medical check ups. Ever tried holding your fangs in for months at a   
time?" Mara shook her head no. "It hurts. It hurts like hell. But my quarters   
were bugged and so was my fighter. They would glisten too much. Sometimes, I   
would go into the refresher and put my head into a towel and let them out for a   
few seconds. I had to put them back up quickly. If I ever was out of site for a   
few minutes, security would barge in." Luke shook his head. "Shows how much they   
trusted a Force-user. I was a sworn enemy of the Empire, yet every month there   
was a few people in the room with me, just to make sure I changed."  
  
"Sounds like the Rebellion isn't the haven it's made out to be." Mara commented.  
  
"That's an understatement," Luke snorted. "They discriminate against anything   
that's not their native species. So the humans were discriminated against by the   
Twi'leks, the Roans, the Mon Cals, etc, and they were discriminated against by   
the humans. But I didn't fall under any of those categories. But not many people   
knew that. To them I was a human. To some I was a werewolf that needed to be   
watched. And to a select few I was a Sensitive."  
  
"Those that knew you were a werewolf, what did they think you ate?" Mara asked,   
caught up in the tale.  
  
"I suppose they didn't think about it. By their thinking, since I was part   
human, why couldn't I eat human food? The cooks knew me and what I liked. They   
always left some uncooked meat for me. Whenever I had a mission, they were never   
solo, I would try to ditch my partner and go hunting. I never had time to savor   
the humans. After a while, I stopped caring. By that time, the Rebel   
Conditioning had broken into me and started mixing into my natural control. I   
started to have visions of my grandmother and her parents in alternate   
realities. I saw my grandmother killed at a young age, I saw her killed at her   
wedding, I saw her still alive to day. I saw my great-grandparents killed   
thousands of ways."  
  
"Her name was Katrina? Your great-grandmother?" At Luke's startled nod, she   
continued. "I glimpsed the end of one of your visions of her."  
  
"They come often. I've learned to ignore them. They don't tell me anything   
useful."  
  
"How did you come back into the Empire?" Mara asked softly, trying to not break   
the spell that surrounded them.  
  
"I earned the Rebellion's trust. I helped of course," Luke grinned, fangs   
hanging down low. "They needed only a little persuasion. They gave me control of   
a captured Imperial Star Destroyer, Executioner I believe the original name was.   
It was renamed Rebel Dream. On it's maiden voyage, my father asked me where I   
was. After I had divulged my location, the Imperial Fleet came out of   
hyperspace. They shot some well placed shots to where the shield was the   
weakest. Accidentally, one of the shots shut off the self-destruct. Quite an   
accident."  
  
"I'm sure." Mara murmured.  
  
"Well, the Rebel Dream was captured. It turned into the Rebel Nightmare. No pun   
intended. I told all. And so did all the crew-sentients. It was the worst defeat   
the Rebellion had ever faced. My father took some sort of perverse pleasure in   
that. I have no intention of ever finding out why. I got a ride home in the   
Executor."  
  
"And then you killed Palpatine." Mara accused him.  
  
"I was ordered to. Father was half-bitten by Palpatine so he couldn't kill him.   
That didn't stop him from being able to order me to kill him. Since there was no   
trace of Palpatine's blood in my veins, I had no trouble killing him. It went   
very quick. When I was done, Father came in and drank just enough to mark the   
kill."  
  
"Which is why I don't feel anything toward him."  
  
"Exactly. He didn't drink enough for Palpatine's life source to be centered in   
him so that all Palpatine's servants would serve him. He just drank enough to   
know where they all were. For weeks after Palpatine's death, we were busy   
killing all of them."  
  
"Except for me."  
  
"Father had heard of you. Who hadn't heard of the Emperor's Hand? Even I had.   
But we didn't know who you were. And in the weeks of confusion, you had gone."  
  
"I fled." Mara recalled. "I was afraid of everything. I went underground,   
fighting for survival. A crime lord took me on and trained me to be his   
successor. When he was done, I drank him. He was very sweet." Mara licked her   
lips.   
  
"I don't know, I prefer sour." Luke grinned. This had suddenly turned into a   
conversation more ordinary than the human affinity for talking about the   
weather. Talking about blood preferences, that was the most everyday thing ever   
invented. Luke smiled at Mara and she smiled back.  
  
  
Mothma gazed in anger at the holos of the bodies that had once been Organa-Solo,   
Solo and a man who's name escaped her for the moment. She knew very well what   
had happened to them... Vader. She stood up from her desk to cast a spell of   
protection... an old habit she had picked up from her parents, her parents...   
Mothma felt her anger override her discernment of the situation. Yes she was an   
old fool, but a powerful and deadly old fool, at least... she once was. Yes she   
had her doubts, and knew that the Rebellion alone could not defeat this powerful   
Empire, but with this new ally... with this new belief, the Empire didn't stand   
a chance! Mothma let out a horrible, evil cackle in delight.  
  
  
Luke gazed at the golden orb gently floating in front of him. He reached out for   
it, feeling it's power... the power he had to have. Luke took a step forward-and   
fell into the darkness. "No!" someone cried... Mara. As he fell, he felt an evil   
darker than the deeds he had done in the past... darker than anything he could   
imagine. Death. Death was here. He felt the fear of the damned, the pain of   
hopelessness. And he saw it, a creature filled with hate and destruction, one   
that he knew would not hesitate to rip him to shreds. He knew his only advantage   
against this... monster, would be immortality...  
  
  
Luke awoke in a cold sweat. He had learned to ignore these visions... but this   
one was different... how, he wasn't sure, but he felt it held an important   
meaning... one he could not yet comprehend... Mara awoke next to him.   
  
"Vision?" she asked softly, seeing the concern on his face.   
  
He shook his head, "It's nothing to worry about." Mara glared at him.   
  
"Vader, you can't hide anything from me and you know it! Out with it!"   
  
Luke shrugged and lay down. "It's just a useless vision, don't worry about it."   
  
Mara sighed, knowing she wouldn't get anything more out of him and lay down as   
well, just as Luke got up in realization.  
  
"Oh, shit!" He muttered as he started to climb out of the bed, but Mara grabbed   
him and pulled him back under the covers.   
  
"What ever you forgot, it can wait."  
  
  
End Part Two  
End Book One  
  



End file.
